Thank you Chris. Now I will have a happier weekend. I really hope this can be resolved. The extra info gained from that extra little bit of colour is extremely useful when charging around the mixer.
One thing I love about Protools is the mixer and the way you can color code the mixer channels. It’s great for workflow and looks good too. Cubases mixer looks dark and clunky compared to PT. imo
wow, how awesome is that …
I sincerely hope some of this direct communication continues long after the 6 release.
+1. I like the PT method too, very clear. But even they’ve succumbed slightly to the dark style recently which is just the fad at the moment. Bigger and clearer icons and less ‘fancy borders’ would suit me. I’m less interested in the aesthetics more into being able to navigate around quickly with good visual cues. Someone in the studio said the other day that Cb5 wasn’t as easy to navigate as SX3 - I’d say personal taste, but I agree.
Mike.
+1
Haven’t got my C6 yet but anyhow; in C5 in the mixer the FX/GROUP tracks’ colors weren’t too distinctive. They should color up even the grey area in the bottom, where the tracks’ numbers are. OK ok, not a huge deal, but have sooo many times cried after that property. Would be better to have the color on where you have to click your mouse to. I remember at least Nuendo 4 having it that way…?
and what do you suggest should be in its’ place?
I respectfully disagree with folks who claim aesthetics don’t matter and then follow right behind with “what I want it to look like is…”
Looks are extremely important to software. The problem is that what people find pleasing is very subjective. I can’t use Reaper mostly because I can’t stand the UI. Same with Audacity. There are tremendous features in both, but they are aesthetically difficult to use. Cubase has a lot right in the interface (taking the old school windowing out of the equation). But, I agree that it can always use some tweaks to keep it “eye friendly”
+1 but there is an argument for a more generic track type that can be used for a multiplicity of operations, VCA fading and so on, linking to MIDI channels and so forth so I doubt this is the end of the discussion, merely it is the beginning of what will hopefully be a fruitful and positive discussion.
Nothing, … FX tracks and Groups tracks are just audio tracks. Even when they were first created they were artificial differences that are now gone. What do find different about them other than the icon and fader color? Off the top of my head I believe the only difference right now is the ability to record. That’s an artificial limitation that serves no purpose. Heck, that limitation may be gone in C6, I didn’t look.
So, if the only real difference left is the ability to identify the track type in the mixer, then give us a way to identify them. So, if you go read my suggestion you will see what I would replace them with. The ability to save track presets with fader background colors and have those available in the Add Audio Track drop down.
But you have to do that, manually …
OK, the ‘use for similar tracks’ option may help.
The main issue though, is, that the mixer channels are not reflecting that color
in an clearly visible way ( i.e.: completely colored background ).
bye, Jan
Hi dada
I don’t work with bands but have projects that have many tracks, and now with the new folder functions I can only assume that streamlining projects will be much easier.
The color strip at the bottom is more than enough IMV to identify tracks, as track type is more or less determined by function rather than an ad hoc feature such as for example auto increment/auto color.
And lets not forget Rewire channels ‘colour’ too… 
(oh, and thanks ChrisB for your earlier post - hopefully some positive news soon…)
Bob
All right, in Protools it works more or less the way you describe it, but their busses system is different as well as their color scheme. And their mixer has better workflow and features IMHO (colors, grouping, moveable channels, insert an sends in the same view, etc.).
With the approach I suggested you would be able to have custom fader backgrounds for as my track types as you like. Not, just the 4 we have now.
Hi bentley - and as such, the current situation (with the Track Type colours in C5.x.x) doesn’t bother/hinder you much at all either…? Thus our wishes for a return of them in C6 here are ok with you…?
Bob
Yes - agreed; I said in an earlier post I liked what you had said…
All right, this is your workflow, but mine is different, I feel the same as Dada when he says :
E.g.: my color for drums is light blue. In my drum folder I have audio, midi and group tracks often with opened automation lanes or even subfolders. All parts are light blue.
At least we can make it an option.
For a pad sound with a VST synth, I can have the midi track named “pad”, the vst channel named “pad” too, and I make the difference between the two by looking at the track color. Now I’ll have to name the first “pad midi” and the second “pad audio”, and I will need to read the channel’s name in order to see which one I’m working on. It’s really annoying, I have multiple screens and this slows me down. 
And I don’t have only 1 pad track in my projects 
so repeat this 10 times and the nightmare starts.
The colouring we are talking about here (Channel Type Colours) is quite subtle in C5 and doesn’t really alter the “look” of the mixer, it just gives a few extra visual clues, which improve navigation. It would appear that C6, wilst setting out to make the mixer appear more streamlined, has removed those visual cues, and not replaced them with any similar navigational aid.
I’d like to see it re-appear, or at least be a preference.
The Idea of user definable track types is certainly enticing for the future.
In terms of general appearance, I think that Cubase has it about right. Like some other DAWs it’s gone a little bit dark recently for my own taste, but that can be altered easily enough, it’s just personal preference, and Cubase has pretty good provision for accommodating that.
This is very much the way I work also. the combination of the user assigned colour and the track type colour is the key for me.
So why not have an option firstly to color folders and inherit a background color for that instead.